I am a Capybara

by Michela Fabbri

A capybara is not a mouse, or a beaver, or a bear, and has all sorts of surprising traits you will soon discover. But while every capybara has teeny tiny ears and a gigantic nose, this endearing capybara happens to love poetry and the opera, and even dressing up as a whale! He speaks candidly about his experiences and feelings, and he likes to find common ground with others, like his best friend, a little bird. Although he may appear to be a tough guy, he still likes cuddles and care. Michela Fabbri's irresistibly charming illustrations and witty monologue reveal the wonderful things to discover by trying new things, learning about something or someone you don't know, and embracing community and family.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

Published October 6, 2020

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Capybaras are the largest rodents in the world, they’re often mistaken for dogs, and they love water, but did you know that they also have an appreciation for opera and poetry? I am a Capybara teaches readers some simple facts about capybaras with a humorous tone narrated by none other than the capybara himself.

At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about the ‘fact mixed with fiction’ story, but it kept the book comical and interesting. The illustrations are somewhat simple and look to be hand-sketched which inspired my young reader to sit down with a pencil and paper and attempt to draw him.

There are little messages here about the importance of acceptance, family, community, and caring for others. The only thing I would’ve loved is the addition of a fact section at the end for those interested in learning more, because this is an animal we personally didn’t know very much about. Overall, we enjoyed it.

4****

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is educational. It is fun. It is amazing!

I didn't know capybaras exist.
I appreciate the efforts of the team who brought out this gem. I keep learning things from children's books like this. Because never in my life, I would not have looked up for animals which I wasn't aware about. It's fun learning about animals!

It's easy for us to assume animals which look similar as one kind. But this kind of picture books help us educate about the differences and the facts we need to know.

I like the cover so much!
The illustrations are amazing. Kudos to the artist!

However, I would appreciate it more if the font style and size are reader friendly, especially for the kids. It looks crowded, thin and small.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC.

[Sandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

A capybara might be confused with a mouse, a beaver, a bear or a marmot, but he's not. A capybara is a capybara and this book is full of facts about it so you can know more about the biggest rodent in the world.

The pictures are very simple but nice. I am not sure the text would be that appealing to small children. It feels long after a few pages.

I received this book from Princeton Architectural Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[dominika · Rating 4 out of 5]

moje dzieci (uczniowie) kochają kapibary i stwierdziłam, że im przeczytam. szczerze to liczyłam, że będzie dłuższa, żeby zajęła całą lekcje.... ale nie no, pomyslowa i urocza, podoba mi się, dzieciakom pewnie też się spodoba

[Trzcionka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Treść kompletnie nijaka. Do zapomnienia po zamknięciu książki. Ani to dla dzieci, ani dla dorosłych. Lektura na dosłownie 5 minut. Ilustracje urocze, ale to wszystko. Za nie daje +1 gwiazdkę.

[Czytajez · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

Bardzo przyjemna lektura i śliczne rysunki ❤️

Kapibara to największy gryzoń na świecie. To przyjazne zwierzątko, które żyje w symbiozie z wieloma innymi gatunkami. Nie ukrywam, że jestem osobą, która uległa szałowi na kapibary i z tego właśnie powodu zdecydowałam się na sięgnięcie po ten tytuł.💕

To co od początku przykuło moją uwagę to cudowne ilustracje. Jeżeli będziecie mieć taką możliwość polecam zajrzeć do niej w księgarni - jestem pewna, że nie będziecie mogli się powstrzymać przed kupieniem. Ale “Być jak kapibara” to nie tylko piękne rysunki. To przede wszystkim książka, która swoją prostotą zachęca do doceniania malutkich rzeczy. 💛

Uważam, że warto poznać tę książkę! Może być idealnym prezentem dla młodszych członków rodziny. Myślę, że ten prosty przekaz może zmotywować do poruszenia różnych tematów, rozmowy z dorosłymi o emocjach, odczuwaniu radości i docenianiu małych momentów - no i oczywiście pozwoli przybliżyć naturę tego wyjątkowego zwierzątka.

Jest to idealna pozycja, będąca bazą do wielu dyskusji. Kapibara może zachęcić do odkrywania świata i zatrzymywania się na chwilę nad jego wspaniałością a przy okazji na pewno wywoła uśmiech na twarzach czytelników.

Ja z pewnością będę zaglądać do tej książki w gorszych chwilach, ilustracje i krótkie sentencje otulają jak kocyk i podnoszą na duchu małych i dużych. Jej lekkość i minimalizm sprawia, że można z nią spędzić kilka sympatycznych chwil, albo otworzyć na przypadkowej stronie i bardziej pochylić się nad sensem słów. Myślę, że obdaruję tą książką kilka ważnych dla mnie osób <3

[Kacper ) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Banger

[Helena Paciorek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Niby zwykla ksiazecza o kapibarach, która faktycznie o nich opowiada, lecz opisane sytuacje nie muszą dotyczyć tylko tych zwierząt ;))

[Ola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jestem kapibarą.

[Ania · Rating 5 out of 5]

BEST. BOOK. EVER.

Chcę być kapibarą tak bardzo

[Storywraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Michela Fabbri's debut book. She highlights the interesting and oftentimes unfamiliar animal.... the capybara. It is often mistaken for a beaver, a bear or a mouse but it's none of those.

This adorable capybara is a wee bit different from the standard ones. This one loves poetry, the opera and even dressing up in costumes. He is refined and full of adventure. He tells his readers all about himself and reveals that his best friend is a little bird. They share life together.

Capybaras love to hang out in groups and he shares that he loves cuddles and care a lot. Kids will be delighted to learn all about this interesting animal and the author does a splendid job of informing the reader through her simple illustrations and witty narrative about his feelings and experiences. The message of the book highlights family, community living and discovery of new things. It is a wonderful book to add to a classroom collection or place in an elementary school library. I recommend it.

[zosia · Rating 5 out of 5]

rozplywam sie

[dzulia · Rating 5 out of 5]

przeczytałam to w empiku z przyjaciółką BOZE CUDO

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a beautiful and simple book about a Capybara and their nature in the wild. I didn't know anything about Capybaras so I really enjoyed this book and think many children will enjoy reading and learning about this rodent type animal much like a dog in looks but of which we never really hear about.

[Donna Maguire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to be added to Amazon UK and US on 6th October 2020 - publication day!

I thought that this book was great - it was well written and full of fun!

The book tells you all about what a Capybara is - and isn't!

It has facts and it is well written and was funny in places too - a fab way to learn more about there lovely (and very large rodents!) - highly recommended!

[_Julia_bookstagram_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chyba najbardziej urocza książka jaką przeczytałam
Te ilustracje są tak wspaniale 🥹
A samej treści nie ma tu za dużo, jednak jest to bardzo dobra książka dla dzieci, opowiadana z perspektywy kapibary

[Monika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Przyjemna książeczka

[Barka_759 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it <3

[Bianka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Po tej książce polubiłam kapibary

[Iuliae · Rating 5 out of 5]

wzruszajace

[Maks Kolodziej · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about the life of the biggest rodents in the world. Filled with fun facts about them and just overall a fun short read.

[martyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5
Moi bliscy znajomi i przyjaciele kupuja mi rzeczy z kapibarami i to kocham 🥹🥹🥹

[ania · Rating 4 out of 5]

fav zwierzątko

[Bandita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so heartwarming. Here a capybara tells about himself. Not many people knows about them (myself included) and it was nice to know about them in this cute way with adorable illustrations!

[Flor Méndez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leí este libro gracias a NetGalley :D (English below!)

Es un libro muy dulce <3

Me encantan los carpinchos. Me gusta ver videos en los que no están haciendo absolutamente nada y aún así se ven como si estuvieran disfrutando en todo momento, y sentí que los carpinchos estaban haciendo exactamente eso en este libro. Mientras le explican su vida al lector, con los dibujos hechos así nomás y aún así preciosos, sentí que estaban en paz.

Lo único que no me copó del todo fue lo de la ópera y lo de la poesía. Me encanta leer libros para niñes sobre animales que aman el arte, o los deportes, o cocinar, y conocemos hechos sobre elles a través de eso, o nos cuentan una historia usando eso de excusa, pero, en este caso, como está lleno de hechos posta sobre carpinchos, lo sentí medio raro. ¡Igual es muy tierno!

PD: mi carpincho favorito es el que está usando una de esas corbatas moñito <3

------✄------

This was really sweet.

I love capybaras! I really enjoy watching videos of capybaras doing absolutely nothing yet still seeming like they're enjoying every moment of it, and I felt the capybaras in this book were doing the exact same thing! When explaining their life to the reader and with the lazy yet lovely drawings, I felt they were at peace.

The only thing that didn't do it for me is the opera and poetry thing. I love reading children's books about animals that like arts, or sports, or cooking, and we get to know them through that or they tell us a story using that as an excuse, but in this case, because the book is full of real facts about capybaras, felt kinda off. But still-- lovely!

Ps: my favorite one is the capybara with a bow tie.

[Jolien ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this!

Thanks to the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think this book is very cute. It's a capybara wikipedia page for children so to say, nothing weong with that though! I think it's rather charming!

The book is about a capybara telling a story about himself and his own existence. How Capybaras look, why they may seem angry and that they perhaps have a good sense of humor.

I thought this book was pretty cute. I requested it and was happy to find out that I was accepted. I loved the art and in general I think this book has lots of potential for in the future 🤎

[Lindsey Rojem · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review here and on my blog Samwise Reviews. I love capybaras, and this was a really cute story explaining them. I enjoyed the artwork and how simple and straightforward the narrative was. I would have liked a bit of adventure and a bit more plot, but the capybara’s description of himself is quite enjoyable. I was able to use this in the "Published in 2020" part of my 2020 reading challenge.

[Elevetha · Rating 3 out of 5]

*an copy/ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

Illustrations are adorable!! Very cute little capybaras; they reminded me of Bill Peet 's capybaras.

However, the text of the book is a bit clunky. I think this is due, perhaps almost entirely, to being translated from its original Italian. The text also gets long, which might not be the best option for small kids.

[Etienne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5. The illustrations of this one were very great. Some sort or color pencil hands drawing that please me a lot. The «story» is more of a documentary where we have this animal that present itself. So mostly a documentary, disguise as a story, not my favorite format of book for children, but it does what it does well enough!

[Margo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lubię kapibary, książkę dostałam w prezencie i nawet dla mnie dorosłej wydaje się przynajmniej urocza. W tej książeczce jest dużo miłych faktów na temat kapibar ale zdarzył się też poetycki moment.

Mój ulubiony cytat:
Ale przychodzi moment, w którym trzeba skończyć mówić, moment, w którym słyszy się tylko echo słów.